By John Comberiate
Speaking at the Leadership for a Better World – Creating Social Value through Innovation Conference, Paul C. Light set out to define what it is to be a Social Entrepreneur. Lack of clarity in the term often creates conflict between groups that feel they have been promoting social values throughout their existence and others who see it in the narrow context of treating a problem instead of solving it. Paul defines it as “Innovative activity designed to solve an intractable problem” and has come to this definition by researching myths around the Entrepreneur, the Idea, the Opportunity and the Organization.
Paul says of these four areas, the entrepreneur takes the most focus. The myth is that Social Entrepreneurs think differently. In his research, he has found this isn’t exactly a myth, it’s more of a simplification. Entrepreneurs are not always more risk seeking but they do turn out to be more optimistic. They are sometimes optimistic to the point of hubris, however, not questioning the value of what they are doing.
The myth around the ideas behind Social Entrepreneurship is that the ideas are always new. The “newness” is not in the idea itself, rather it comes in the combination of ideas, their delivery or application. Often social entrepreneurs take ideas from multiple disciplines and use them together to form something different that hasn’t been done before. The “idea” is the creativity of seeing something in a new light.
The general thinking is that Social Entrepreneurial activities happen in groupings, and this turns out to be true. Often Social Entrepreneurship occurs in waves, large amounts happening all at once followed by periods of inactivity. Paul says that now is a time of great change and even if it were not, there is always opportunity to create new ventures.
Paul says that there is a myth that Social Entrepreneurial organizations never age. As normal organizations age, they formalize and bureaucratize in order to support growth. This is going to happen, but the strength behind Social Entrepreneurial organizations is their ability to innovate – not once – but twice, three times and so on. These organizations are designed for change, adapting and remaining agile.
Characteristics of Social Entrepreneurial Companies
There is no defined formula at this point for a Social Entrepreneurial company, but Paul’s research have given him some theories for characteristics they need to have. They include:
- Being Rigorous: Measuring results, knowing why they exist, describing a value proposition. They ask themselves tough questions and challenge themselves.
- Honesty: Being able to tell themselves when something is not working and make the change.
- Trustworthy: Organizations that continue to inspire an entrepreneur have hope. They have hopefulness about the future, a sense that they are working towards a goal that will help something bigger than themselves.
Paul leaves us with this new reality: The world has changed. No matter the sector, non-profit, for-profit or government, we are all public servants. We are all engaged in improving the life of the people in the world. We are all striving to be Social Entrepreneurs.